Sallah: Ram traders lament low patronage amidst high prices
As the countdown to Sallah festivities narrows, ram sellers across the country are currently grappling with a disturbing trend of low patronage.
Their voices showed frustration and worry as they attributed the slow patronage to a combination of economic challenges, spate of insecurity, and transportation costs for the animals sourced from northern Nigeria.
Our correspondents who spoke with some ram sellers in Ogun, Lagos, Gombe, Bauchi, Nasarawa and Sokoto states, observed that the prices of the rams ahead of the forthcoming Sallah celebration.
A cattle trader, who spoke with reporters at Ibafo, Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area, Ogun State, Ibrahim Yusuf, explained that a big ram was sold between N500,000 and N700,000 with the least sold for N250,000.
Yusuf said, “Rams are so costly this year and the reason for it is the insecurity in the North. We no longer get rams there anymore. We have to travel to Mali most of the time to get the rams and the money we spend in that process is contributing to the huge prices.”
In Arepo, also in Ogun State, another trader who identified himself only as Muhammed said, “The effects of the activities of insurgents, banditry among others contributed to the surge in the prices of the rams as the supplies from the region had gradually reduced.
“The profits we make now are meagre compared to the amount we always spend on getting the rams here from Mali. Rams are very expensive this year and they are between N300,000, N650,000, depending on the size.”
Another seller in the Ijaiye area of Lagos, who refused to give his name, said, “Prices of ram are high now.
You know what is happening in the country these days. The smallest ram here now is N300,000.
“Though if you have N200,000, I can still find one for you, generally, in this place, we have rams of N400,000, N600,000 and N800,000. It is not our fault. The cost of transporting the rams to Lagos is another thing, but there is nothing we can do about that.”
In Gombe State at Tike market in Pantami, a seller, Dan Garba, said, “Now, we have N800,000 ram, but last year, we sold the same size between N350,000 to N450,000. The cheapest ram here is N150,000 only. It’s not our fault; that (N150,000 ram) was the ram we sold for N75,000 last year.”
Another trader, Sultan Abubakar, stated, “Customers are not coming to buy. If customers don’t come, how am I going to take care of my family? I can’t sell below cost price. I will not realise my money.”
